Five of my All-Time-Favourite Book Quotes

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I am suffering from a bit of a book slump, so I don’t have much in the way of book reviews for you right now. I have decided not to force the issue for the sake of this blog – I blog because I love reading, and I love books, not the other way around. I have been filling my evenings with catching up on the TV I missed (Renew Timeless Godammit) and my knitting (babygrow is looking a bit…stretched. Still, first time knitting something not a blanket square or a stuffed unicorn so it’s all relative).

Funny story about my knitting – I was out, I bought a knitting magazine (as you do) because it had a baby toy section that looked adorable (I may knit a Llama/Alpaca…). I got home, started looking through the thirty odd pages of patterns and thought I’m going to knit a scarf. So, in the middle of June, I am cable knitting a scarf to give to some poor unfortunate soul come holiday season. Weather appropriate projects right there.

But you didn’t click because of my knitting stories, you’ve come for the quotes! I have lots of favourite quotes, but these are my absolute, all-time favourite quotes from books ever. A pretty high accolade if ever there was one!

Five of my all time favourite quotes

Five
Persuasion
Jane Austen

“But I hate to hear you talking so like a fine gentleman, as if women were all fine ladies instead of rational creatures. We none of us expect to be in calm waters all our days.”

Mrs Croft to her brother Captain Wentworth on his hesitancy to have a woman on board his navy ship.

One of the things I love about Persuasion, one of the things I have always loved about Persuasion, is how Austen shakes up gender expectations, criticising them in gems like this. Mrs Croft is the wife of an Admiral, and she is as at home on a frigate as she is in brick and mortar. She has travelled, and she has seen life and her reaction to everything is along the lines of “Yes, but women are a lot more hardy/rational/humanthank you seem to think.” This is one of my favourite quotes because it just sums up gendered expectations into two sentences.

Four
A Darker Shade of Magic
V.E.Schwab

“I’d rather die on an adventure than live standing still”

Lila Bard to Kell

There was no way I would be able to get through this list without mentioning something Lila Bard has said to an uptight Kell. There were so many quotes to choose from! My other favourite quote from this book is Lila cheerfully telling Kell that she refuses to die before she’s seen it. He asks what, and she replies everything. Basically, I love these quotes because they just describe Lila’s attitude to life – that is to live like every day is an adventure. I’ll be honest, living every day like an adventure sounds pretty cool.

Three
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland
Lewis Carroll

“I knew who I was when I got up this morning, but I think I must have changed a several times since then.”

Alice

Alice is full of wonderful quotes about imagination and how people change, but this is my absolute favourite. I also love there’s no use going back to yesterday, because I was a different person then and “begin at the beginning” the king said gravely, “and go on till you come to the end: then stop.”

Two
Six of Crows
Leigh Bardugo

Jesper knocked his head against the hull and cast his eyes heavenward.
“Fine. But if Pekka Rollins kills us all, I’m going to get Wylan’s ghost to teach my ghost how to play the flute just so that I can annoy the hell out of your ghost.”
Bekker’s lips quirked. “I’ll just hire Matthias’ ghost to kick your ghost’s ass.”
“My ghost won’t associate with your ghost,” Matthias said primly, and then wondered if the sea air was rotting his brain.

Six of Crows

This quote sums up the entire dynamic of the main characters in the duology. They are all a little ridiculous, and they are all stubborn and determined, but they’re also just kids. When I think of Six of Crows, I think of this quote (also I will have you without armour, Kaz Brekker, or I will not have you at all.)

One (Plus One)
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

“I don’t want to be married just to be married. I can’t think of anything lonelier than spending the rest of my life with someone I can’t talk to, or worse, someone I can’t be silent with.”

Juliet to Sophie

“That’s what I love about reading: one tiny thing will interest you in a book, and that tiny thing will lead you to another book, and another bit there will lead you onto a third book. It’s geometrically progressive – all with no end in sight and for no other reason than sheer enjoyment.”

Juliet to Dawsey

I love this book – I may need to re-read it already. I feel this book captures people and motivations so darn well and I just adored the writing and the characters, and if you want to read my full review, you can do so here. But these quotes are my favourite, because both still hold true today – a lonely marriage isn’t worth it, and books link in an inexhaustible web!

I love finding short quotes that I can write on post-it notes or brown travel labels as bookmarks for my currently reading pile. They stack up everywhere. One of the useful things about Goodreads is that I can just go through the “quotes” section if I want to reminisce over a particularly witty turn of phrase. Also, if I highlight something on my kindle, it saves them on my Goodreads which is kinda fun.

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Published by Wandering Bea

Just popping off to see, draw and experience new places and new skies! Probably read a few books along the way, do some knitting. You know. Adventures :)
Currently still in the UK.
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